Notes from the sacred relationships text I read through chapter 1-4, and the book I chose to evaluate is Ruth and Naomi. The book of Ruth is simple yet is supplied with meaningful themes 1. Naomi: a widow who lost everything and still find life again in her daughter in law 2. Ruth: Marriage journey was complicated but was able to follow through Theme: Parenthood ● “It is through this relationship that the child first comes to understand God in whatever terms. “God” is too big to understand, but the mother who supplies physical and emotional nourishments is the first cognitive understanding of Divinity (10).” ● Naomi calls Ruth “daughter” which demonstrates their relationship not as mother and daughter in law but as “spiritual” mother and daughter. ● Through the mother-daughter relationship (first model) is how we get to know God Spiritual Awakening: Spiritual awakening is not giving up our free will ● “Ruth gives up her previous identity to attach herself to Naomi, and in doing this she will ultimately come to her destiny to not only marry Boaz but also be the mother of the ancestor of both the great King David and the future Messiah (12).” ○ Giving up our identity as in what context? Identity comes in many forms. ● Ruth attaches herself to Naomi, and she surrenders to Naomi’s guidance. ○ I feel like it's hard to trust in someone else's guidance, especially today. If you yourself don’t even know what the future holds, how could you trust someone to decide your own life? The expectations today are unrealistic, unspoken, and unclear. ● “If Ruth had argued with Naomi...she would not have ended up being married to Boaz..” ○ So was it not the Lord’s guidance then? If it was only Naomi’s guidance then there could be many possibilities. Ruth could have been married to someone else? ● “Once we have attached ourselves to a guide, it is imperative that we trust him or her fully.” ○ I disagree. I don't think we could trust any human to the fullest besides God. People could always switch up on you. If I can make mistakes, what makes me think he/she wouldn’t make mistakes too. I don’t think it’s about trusting a guide. I feel like whatever happens to the decisions you make, whether it leads you to good or bad, it’s all about learning from your own mistakes and always striving for the best the next day. You can’t just rely on one specific person to guide you straight to an expected destination. It doesn’t work like that. Individualism Individualism has impacted our lives and relationships in many ways. Not only did it impact our daily lives, it also impacted our relationship with God. We live in a modern world where self-love and self- fulfillment is highly valued. It’s obvious through social media, education, and technology. It’s always about us and never someone else. We are constantly finding ways to improve ourselves and make ourselves better. Individualism made us focus only on ourselves and turn us away from God’s purpose. Because identity and goals are so personal, we often tend to focus on what will benefit us. We get way too caught up trying to find our own paths and comfort. In addition, personal fulfillment is the biggest achievement, and independence and self-reliance are highly valued. Freedom comes from having choices and stress-free. So, when people go to church, they go to address their needs and to seek comfort. This causes the church to become a place of support and counsel rather than a community of believers. Our faith as a community is slowly moving from a public sector to a private sector. This means that there is no unity in the community, and everyone is taking their faith to a personal, private, and individual faith. There is no longer a response to social problems and the central idea no longer points out to reflect a corporate identity as God’s people. This leads us to excessive individualism, which means individual over and above community. It guides Americans the way of life and leads to the loss of community life. Our society is becoming increasingly disconnected and lacking in the important value of social capital.
